Bad dreams as an adult?

NervousHomeowner

Thank you for all the helpful replies and suggestions I hadn't considered that it might be stress related but we're moving house on Saturday and although I'm really excited, I imagine I'm probably pretty stressed out subconsciously. That would probably explain things!

I know it is usually the heat but I really don't think it can be that making things so vivid this time. I've got a huge fan in the bedroom, windows are open every night and I've been sleeping under a really thin blanket since the heatwave started, so it hasn't really been that hot for me.

I will definitely try the suggestion of rescue remedy I have some in the cupboard and hadn't thought that it'd probably work for this situation. Will definitely be taking a few drops before bed tonight! If this continues past once we've moved I'll definitely consider other options like hypnotherapy, although I had that when I was younger and I was never sure if it worked or not..

Gigervamp

I remember years ago when I was in debt, having dreams where I was being chased. Once I was out of debt, they stopped.

Last year I had a lot of dreams about alien invasions! They weren't nightmares as such, even though I was always one of the resistance fighters. I always woke up thinking, oh, that was a fun dream!

It only occured to me recently that it was probably my subconscious warning me about the cancer that was diagnosed in September.

andygb

If the dreams persist, then I would suggest that the OP go to their GP and ask to be referred to a sleep specialist.
Night terrors can be very draining, and can be linked to other sleep disorders, which in turn if not diagnosed can cause other more serious health problems - heart, hypertension, even dementia.

red_devil

i dream and remember nearly every night. Mostly they are alot of rubbish. Oh hardly remembers his?

Lagoon

I have very vivid, memorable dreams. Most of the time they're not bad, but I do also remember one of these 'chasing' dreams from earlier this year.

I 'woke up' in bed, not alone. I tapped 'OH' next to me, only it wasn't him. It was a really scrawny man, that looked like he must have been on some serious drugs. He had very dark eyes, scary teeth and he turned and snarled at me. I realised it wasn't OH, panicked, and then he rolled over until he was in a crawling position facing me. I tried to crawl away but I was moving really slowly, and he was getting nearer. I eventually got to the end of the bed, but I fell off. The man stood up and moved towards me. By this point I'd realised I was dreaming. As he got closer I was screaming 'help!' to OH, hoping that he'd hear me and wake me up. It was coming out as a whisper in the dream, and I probably wasn't actually making any noise at all. So, I tried crawling further away, and found I was completely paralysed. I did wake up just as he reached me, but felt like it took forever with me screaming and hoping OH would hear me and wake me!

Can't describe how terrifying that man looked, but I don't think I'll ever forget his image!

NervousHomeowner

Well, I'm glad I'm not alone and you all have nightmares too! I was starting to think I was going mad

Lagoon - That sounds terrifying. I have a similar dream but my OH is a giant spider instead of an old man. It's terrible because I wake up screaming and he tries to hug me to calm me down but I'm still half asleep and he still registers as a giant spider, so there I am trying to escape from a giant spider when really it's my boyfriend trying to wake me up!

RAS

I find that if I get hot at night I get nightmares/bad dreams; weather, fever etc.

I also find certain meds cause the same problem -; anything with codeine and things like mouth ulcer treatments containg lidnocaine (sp).

Like having my own rpivate showing of a Stephen King movie or two.

CupOfChai

Can you work out any sort of pattern as to when you have the bad dreams?

I get bad dreams if I'm stressed. I don't necessarily feel especially stressed during the day, but I must internalise it and then it comes out in my sleep. OH has nightmares when he's hot.

I agree with the poster above though, if it persists for a long time and you can't work out any pattern to them such as stress, heat, other environmental influence, or any reason why, speak to your GP about it.